Chapter 157 – Liberation
I briefly considered holding a small drinking party to celebrate our new recruits, but since our plan was about to begin, I decided to postpone it until after this operation was successfully completed.
At dawn, we gathered once more in front of the building.
Well, not all of us.
Lily and Keros were missing.
They were probably still lost in dreamland.
It wasn’t surprising in the slightest.
Seeing this, Karl clicked his tongue briefly.
“Looks like you’re in for a rough time. Good luck.”
“Don't worry about us. Just stick to the plan.”
“Don’t trust us? See you at the Hill of Wailing.”
Karl nudged Lochter Felice’s side as a signal. At that, the two of them took the first route marked on the map at the eleven o’clock direction and disappeared with their carriage.
Each group was responsible for maneuvering a carriage along a designated route. Apart from our own party, several artisans accompanied each carriage as well.
These artisans were tasked with persuading the rescued villagers and guiding them safely to Blyer Territory.
“Elton.”
“Everything is ready on our end.”
At Elton’s gesture, our members pulled up with a large carriage.
Before departing, the members all bowed their heads toward me. It was their way of showing respect to their leader.
“This feels a bit overwhelming.”
Perhaps due to their familiarity with organized groups, Karl’s faction was already well-disciplined despite having joined less than a day ago.
Of course, on paper, ‘he’ was the one above me in the hierarchy.
The dummy leader.
I awkwardly waved as I bid Elton’s group farewell. As their carriage disappeared behind the village, along the second route, I turned to the carriage stationed in front of our lodgings.
Inside, three remaining artisans sat waiting for me.
“Please wait just a moment. We have a couple of heavy sleepers.”
After apologizing to the artisans, I climbed up to the second floor of the inn.
Standing before the door, I let out a quiet sigh before pushing it open.
Kooooooh—
As expected, she was sprawled out, snoring loudly with her arms stretched above her head.
Keros was sleeping with his head resting on her left ankle, sprawled out in a starfish position.
Are you a dog or a person?
I knocked on the wall a few times, but neither of them showed any signs of waking up.
‘Absolutely no way I’m recruiting them.’
Bringing them along wouldn’t mean gaining reliable comrades—it’d be like raising a pair of freeloading children.
Resolving myself once again, I approached the bed.
As I opened the lid of the basket I was holding, a delicious aroma wafted into the room.
Lily and Keros sniffed the air and instinctively rolled toward the basket.
Thud—
I slammed the lid shut, and the witch and the dog sluggishly cracked their eyes open, staring up at me.
I returned their gaze with a smile.
“It’s time for a picnic.”
A short while later, our carriage departed on the final route.
The hunt for the hunters had begun.
***
Draka, the human hunter, surveyed his surroundings from atop his horse.
A village that had been peaceful just moments ago was now engulfed in raging flames, turning black with soot.
Terrified people fled for their lives, pursued by laughing hunters.
Through the thick smoke, desperate screams mixed with mocking laughter, earnest pleas intertwined with ridicule, painting a blood-drenched hellscape.
A merciless plundering.
Under Draka’s command, the hunters were in the midst of a full-scale raid.
Before long, the village was reduced to ashes, and the hunters dragged their captives toward the wagons, preparing them for the slave trade.
Draka frowned as he counted their numbers.
“Is this all?”
About thirty people.
For a village of this size, that number was far too small.
“It seems most of them fled after hearing the rumors.”
“That’s why I told you not to kill those who were worth money!”
“Most of them were already old…”
“Fucking hell.”
Draka spat on the ground and turned his horse roughly.
Just three days ago, every village they raided had been overflowing with people ripe for abduction. But now, the rumors of their pillaging had spread, and many had already escaped to Blyer Territory.
They had spent the entire day looting nearby villages, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult to capture even fifty people.
“We should start heading to the trade site soon.”
Of course, Draka wanted more.
Even just the women and children they had captured today would amount to an enormous sum in gold.
But orders had arrived from the Black Market the previous night—deliver the goods to the trade site within three days.
It was rumored that Blyer would be making a move soon, and if an official subjugation force was dispatched, all their efforts could go up in smoke.
It was time to strike and retreat.
“Move out!”
At Draka’s command, dozens of carriages began rolling forward.
He grinned as he looked over the wagons filled with captives.
Fifteen large wagons here alone.
Including the other two groups, they had over forty wagons in total.
If each wagon carried around fifty slaves, the total number surpassed two thousand.
‘Even after paying off my subordinates, I’ll be left with at least fifty thousand gold. Hehehe…’
A fortune beyond what most could dream of earning in a lifetime.
Some of the men with him had scoffed, saying they should aim for the one-million-gold bounty instead of wasting time on small change.
‘Idiots. They’re probably all dead by now.’
Draka, as an experienced Four-Star, understood better than anyone the terror of a Five-Star.
Even if a group of mana users attacked together, a Five-Star was an opponent they could never hope to take down.
That’s why, when he met with the Black Market’s agent at the Korun River, he had accepted their proposal without hesitation.
Secure as many women and children as possible from the Hill of Wailing.
It was far more practical, and infinitely less risky, than trying to kill Lochter Felice for a share of the bounty.
“By tomorrow, we’ll all be sitting on a mountain of gold!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Hurry up! The golden mountain is right in front of us!”
At Draka’s words, the hunters roared in excitement, shouting his name.
Though he had no inherent combat traits, his greatest talent was his gift of persuasion—his ability to rouse and lead people with nothing but words.
“Send word to the other two groups.”
“What should I tell them?”
“Make sure they arrive at the meeting point within two days. If they’re late, they won’t get a single coin.”
“Understood.”
With that, two riders swiftly galloped off in opposite directions, carrying the message to the other raiding parties.
Draka had done his part.
Smirking, he gazed at the slowly setting sun.
The sky was a deep crimson, with not a single cloud in sight.
A perfect day for a transaction.
“Even the heavens are celebrating my success.”
With dreams of his rosy future, Draka spent the night in the forest, just one day away from the Hill of Wailing.
And then, at dawn—
“D-Draka, sir!”
“Draka, sir!”
“Ugh, what now?”
A noisy commotion disrupted his sleep.
Draka, irritated, sat up, pushing aside the exhausted women he had abducted. As he smacked them with the cold sheath of his sword and ordered them to leave, they scrambled out of the tent in fear.
“What the hell is it!?”
“You need to come out, now!”
Draka stepped outside, his expression darkening as he saw the bloodied men slumped on the ground.
They were fellow hunters, strong ones from another group.
By now, they should have been heading toward the trade site.
A sense of unease crept in.
“What happened? What’s with this mess?”
“W-We were ambushed…”
“What? The subjugation force?”
“No… just two people.”
“…What?”
“L-Lochter Felice. He made his move.”
"This makes no sense!"
A wanted fugitive who had fled from Blyer to survive had now crawled back into Blyer?
Draka couldn't believe it.
The real problem, however, was that another subordinate brought news of a second attack.
That group had been ambushed by nine people. In the dead of night, without a sound, half of them had been assassinated before they even realized what was happening. The survivors had barely managed to escape.
Escape?
Then what about the slaves?
“They're all terrified...”
“You incompetent bastards! Do you know how much they’re worth?!”
Draka stomped his feet in fury, cursing loudly as he rushed to wake everyone up.
If they stayed here any longer, they’d be next. They had to either prepare for battle or move—fast.
Just then—
“S-Sir! Something’s coming!!”
“…What?”
Between the dark trees of the early morning forest, a shadow moved swiftly toward Draka's camp.
Draka stepped forward and raised a hand.
"Hold your ground!"
His talent was his silver tongue.
With just a few words, he could draw people in, make them listen, and shift any situation to his advantage.
If he could just start a conversation, he was confident he could turn things in his favor.
So, he prepared to halt the approaching figure and speak—
But then—
“Woof!”
“...F-Fuck! Stop it!!!”
The enemy was no human.
It was a monstrous, gigantic dog.
The moment the beast with glowing red eyes and jet-black fur opened its jaws wide toward Draka—
Fwoooosh—!
“Aaaaaaagh!!!”
Pitch-black flames erupted, engulfing the tents and setting the surrounding forest ablaze.
At the same time, razor-sharp fangs tore into the necks of the fleeing hunters.
Screams of agony filled the burning forest as the slaughter began.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“S-Spare me…!”
“No! It’s not real! It’s not real!”
Near the wagons filled with captives, the hunters flailed and collapsed to the ground, their faces twisted in terror.
They were trapped in Lily’s illusion magic.
Thwack—!
An arrow pierced through one of their skulls, ending his life instantly.
Standing atop a wagon, I pulled back my bowstring once more.
There were a lot of hunters.
But with Keros drawing their attention, most were completely defenseless.
Thut-thut-thut-tung—!
I picked off the stronger-looking hunters one by one. As their casualties mounted, panic set in, and the remaining hunters lost all discipline, scattering into the forest in every direction.
There had been a lot of them at first, but they were nothing more than lowly thugs—no real threat.
The only one worth being cautious of was Draka himself.
“Where the hell is that bastard? Did he run away?”
Unbeknownst to me, Draka had already perished, burned to ashes in Keros’s hellfire.
The battle had ended far too easily.
“Huh? Some of them are escaping?”
“Just let them go.”
“Why? Last time, you chased them down like a mad dog until none were left.”
“…A mad dog?”
“I saw everything.”
Back then, we couldn’t afford to let any information about us leak. That’s why I had hunted them down relentlessly.
But this time, we had already struck at three locations simultaneously. No matter where the fleeing hunters ran, they had nowhere left to go.
Looking around, it seemed the battle was almost over.
Keros was still busy biting, tearing, and tossing aside the remaining hunters.
I had given him a taste of specialty meat, and now he was completely addicted. The moment I commanded him to transform into his beast form, he obeyed without hesitation and began rampaging through the enemy.
‘I only tested it out just in case, but I never expected enchantments to work on food…’
Seeing him react like an excited puppy wagging its tail at treats, I had a feeling Keros would be incredibly useful in the future.
The problem, however, was Lily.
She was completely ignoring the battle, checking her skin in a mirror.
Just looking at her gave me a headache.
I needed another weapon to keep that woman interested.
"Alright, up we go!"
I released the Ring of Blood’s power and leaped down from the wagon.
The battlefield was littered with weapons abandoned by the slain hunters.
I grabbed an axe and strode toward the large convoy of wagons.
As I stopped before one of them, hundreds of terrified eyes locked onto me.
They had seen everything.
This was no mere battle—it was a one-sided slaughter.
None of them dared to call for help.
Fear had utterly consumed them.
Not that I blamed them—Keros’s beast transformation was horrifying to behold.
I began smashing open the massive locks one by one as I spoke.
"We’ve come to rescue you."
“W-Who are you?”
"We’re acting under Sir Lochter Felice’s orders."
Even after unlocking the doors, the captives hesitated to step outside.
I turned and waved my hand.
The artisans, who had been observing from a distance, hurried forward with their carriages.
I looked back at the captives, tossed my axe aside, and smiled.
“It’s time to go home to your families.”
At those words, the people finally reacted.
One by one, they began stepping out of the wagons.